SPECIFIC ASPECTS OF THE PROTECTION OF REFUGEES' RIGHTS IN EUROPEAN UNION COUNTRIES

Abstract

The article is devoted to a comprehensive study of the specific features of the protection of refugees’ rights in the countries of the European Union in the context of contemporary migration challenges and humanitarian crises. The relevance of the topic is determined by the steady increase in the number of forcibly displaced persons worldwide, the crisis of the European asylum system, as well as the mass influx of refugees from Ukraine caused by the armed aggression of the Russian Federation. Under these conditions, the issue of the effectiveness of legal mechanisms for the protection of refugees acquires particular scientific and practical significance.

The purpose of the article is to provide a legal and scholarly analysis of the formation and functioning of the system for the protection of refugees’ rights in the European Union, as well as to identify the main problems of its implementation at the normative, institutional, and practical levels. The paper traces the evolution of international legal approaches to the protection of persons forced to leave their countries, starting from the early forms of international cooperation in the interwar period and leading to the establishment of modern universal human rights standards. It is demonstrated that the contemporary system of refugee protection in the EU is based on a combination of international obligations of states and supranational legal regulation aimed at harmonizing asylum procedures and protection standards. The article focuses on the key principles of refugee protection, in particular the principle of non-refoulement, equality, and non-discrimination, as well as on the close connection between the institution of asylum and the general system of international human rights protection. It is substantiated that, despite the proclamation of high standards, in practice there remains a significant gap between declared norms and their actual implementation in the EU Member States, which manifests itself in the heterogeneity of procedures, reception conditions, and opportunities for the integration of refugees. Particular attention is paid to the European Union’s response to the mass displacement of Ukrainian citizens, which demonstrated the EU’s capacity for rapid protection while simultaneously highlighting long-term integration challenges.

It is concluded that effective protection of refugees’ rights in the European Union is possible only through the coordinated application of the principles of solidarity and responsibility, as well as through overcoming the gap between legal declarations and the practical implementation of refugee protection mechanisms.